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newsletter

9 August 2018

Message from the RACGP SA&NT Deputy Chair, Dr Chris Clohesy

Welcome to the August edition of our newsletter. It is my pleasure to provide this month’s message while Dr Zakaria Baig is on a brief leave of absence.

The RACGP SA&NT Member Meeting will be held on Wednesday 22 August at College House in North Adelaide. Members can attend in person or via teleconference. It will be a great opportunity for members to meet with the RACGP SA&NT Board members.

In February this year, the RACGP SA&NT Board presented a pre-election submission to both sides of the South Australian Government. The development of this submission was based on the principle that supporting the identified aspects of general practice would bring benefits to patients, the South Australian Government, the profession and the wider community. One of the recommendations in the submission was for the elected Government to consider investing in additional free vaccines in South Australia for general practice immunisation provider use.

On 4 July 2018, it was gratifying to see that the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon Stephen Wade, announced a state-funded Meningococcal B immunisation program. SA Health has invited a member of the RACGP SA&NT Board to be part of the working group that will roll out this program.

I would like to remind all members that the RACGP SA&NT Retreat – Laying the Foundations will be held at the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort on Saturday and Sunday 18–19 August. The event will incorporate an excellent educational program and it is a great opportunity to catch up with our GP colleagues.

Finally, we have reached the halfway point in the current triennium. I encourage all members to review your PLAN activity and, if needed, develop strategies over the coming sixteen months that will complete your educational needs.

All the best,

Dr Christopher ClohesyDeputy Chair, RACGP SA&NT

RACGP SA&NT news

Welcome New Fellow

RACGP SA&NT is pleased to congratulate the following GP who attained RACGP Fellowship in July:

Dr Josephine Bourne

Welcome new committee members

Recently, new members were appointed to the RACGP SA&NT Education and Training Committee. We would like to welcome the following members:

The RACGP SA&NT New Fellows Committee also recently welcomed the following new members:

Dr Basil Albaghdady

Dr Luke Billingsley

Dr Ellen Horner

Dr Aishah Khairudin

Dr Jaiveer Krishnan

Dr Melanie Matthews.

Dr Natalie Payne will continue as the Chair of the New Fellows Committee. Dr Jason Chua, Dr Kay Flynn and Dr Emma Knott will also continue on the committee.

Dr Christopher Bollen, Dr Ghulam Jilani and Dr Rizwan Kajani, former members of the RACGP SA&NT Education and Training Committee and Dr Melanie Considine, Dr Deborah Markopoulos and Dr Thomas Quigley who sat on the RACGP SA&NT New Fellows Committee have all retired from their roles. We thank them for their valued commitment to the respective committees.

Invitation to RACGP SA&NT Member Meeting

6.00–7.40 pm ACST, Wednesday 22 August

RACGP SA&NT members are invited to attend the RACGP SA&NT Member Meeting and state awards at College House.

Please join us for this important annual meeting that will offer members a unique opportunity to meet with the RACGP SA&NT Board, colleagues and to congratulate the state award winners. The event is free of charge to members, but registration is essential.

Teleconference facilities will be available for rural and remote members to participate in the meeting.

RACGP SA&NT Provost, Professor Nigel Stocks, will chair the meeting and Dr Peter Joseph, RACGP SA&NT Archivist, will outline the achievements of this faculty over the past year. The recipients of the 2018 RACGP SA&NT faculty awards will receive well-deserved recognition.

Staff changes in RACGP SA&NT office

Recently, RACGP SA&NT farewelled Anjelica Nowak, Events and Operations Administrator, who is now on maternity leave. We wish her well for her new arrival.

To replace Anjelica for the duration of her leave, we have welcomed Susan Lyon. Susan comes to us with experience in the events industry in venue management and with an audio-visual company. Susan will coordinate the fortnightly general practice education sessions, webinars and will provide additional events and operations support to the team.

Migrant and refugee health

Tuesday 21 August

This session will enable GPs to provide essential healthcare to people of refugee background.

Dr Toni Maldari and Dr Natasha Elsley from Migrant Health Service will address how to identify people of refugee background, health considerations, resources available for caring for people of refugee background and tips for working with interpreters.

Fellowship corner

Welcome NT Assessment Panel Chair, Dr Stratos Roussos

RACGP SA&NT would like to welcome Dr Stratos Roussos (MBBS [Hons], FRACGP, FACRRM) as the newly appointed NT Assessment Panel Chair (APC) on a two-year contract. Dr Roussos has examined several OSCE events in Darwin over recent years and has successfully undertaken Quality Assurance training.

He also has experience as a Key Feature Problem (KFP) exam marker and will be involved in standards setting for the 2018.2 Applied Knowledge Test (AKT). In the last five months, Dr Roussos has been working closely with the RACGP SA&NT in the delivery of pre-exam workshops, mock examinations and webinars for the Northern Territory.

Assessment calendar 2018

A list of upcoming Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP) exam-related events and key dates is available below. Up-to-date listings of the FRACGP exams are now available.

2018.2 OSCE preparation workshop – Adelaide

Saturday 15 September

Involvement in structured programs can help you avoid common candidate mistakes. Take this opportunity to maximise the quality of your RACGP Fellowship exam preparations by attending a RACGP pre-exam course – learn exam study techniques and refresh your knowledge across the various domains of general practice to enhance your chances of success.

This one-day preparation workshop is designed to assist candidates in preparing for the OSCE aiming to provide an outline of the exam components, improve clinical decision-making skills and allow practice of communication techniques.

Candidates will be tutored by experienced members of the RACGP SA exam panel on how to address long, short and viva cases, and will engage in small, facilitated group sessions for practise. Feedback will be provided on performance in mock case scenarios.

For more information or to register online, please visit the pre-exam courses page of the RACGP website. If you have any queries, please contact SA Examination Officer, Jessica Landers, on 08 8267 8313 or email jessica.landers@racgp.org.au

2019.1 KFP webinar series – Darwin

Fridays 7, 14 and 21 September

This three-week online series aims to assist general practice registrars and practice eligible candidates to prepare for the KFP exam. Candidates will have the opportunity to access new test cases and answer questions under the guidance of expert RACGP medical educators.

All candidates must complete the Exam Support Online module prior to registering. Please visit gplearning and log in using your member account details

Please note, this is a live and interactive course. It will not be recorded and you will not be able to access materials later. Please ensure you are available to attend at the specified days and times.

Should you have any questions regarding the session, please call Jessica Fry, NT Representative, on 08 8267 8325 or email via jessica.fry@racgp.org.au

2018.2 OSCE preparation workshop – Darwin

Saturday 22 September

The 2018.2 OSCE preparation course will assist NT candidates in preparing for the upcoming exam. Dr Stratos Roussos, NT APC, will lead the course that includes an in-depth review of Aboriginal health, viva and physical examination cases and a Q&A session. Experienced NT examiners will facilitate interactive sessions.

2018.2 simulated mock OSCE workshop – Darwin

Saturday 6 October

This half-day mock OSCE aims to provide candidates with a greater understanding of the examination and examiner expectations for successful performance. Undertaken in pairs, candidates will rotate through eight stations consisting of short, long and viva cases, administered by experienced NT OSCE examiners. Participant numbers are strictly limited, so early registration is encouraged to secure your place.

Special offer: Register for both the OSCE preparation course and the simulated mock OSCE workshop at the same time to receive a discounted rate of $750 (a saving of $50 for the two activities.) This offer is only available by contacting Jessica Fry on 08 8267 8325.

National news

RACGP endorses the Uluru Statement of the Heart during NAIDOC week

RACGP has supported constitutional change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for many years. During NAIDOC Week (8–15 July 2018), the RACGP took the opportunity to further demonstrate its support for the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.

In its submission to the Committee, RACGP endorsed the recommendations of the Uluru statement from the heart (the Uluru Statement). The Uluru Statement was the result of a constitutional convention held in 2017 at the foot of Uluru that brought together over 250 leaders from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

RACGP support for the Uluru Statement is consistent with RACGP’s commitment to close the gap in health inequality, our membership of the Close the Gap Steering Committee, our support for the Redfern Statement and reflects our ongoing support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and health.

RACGP has also shown its support by adding its name to the ACOSS petition to the Australian Parliament. We join over 10,000 other signatories calling for support for the Uluru Statement.

From August 2018, the Communicable Disease Control Branch (CDCB) will refer notifications of positive hepatitis C pathology tests to SA Health Viral Hepatitis Clinical Practice Consultants, enabling these specialist nurses to contact diagnosing clinicians and, if required, offer support to facilitate follow up of patients and guideline based care.

Are you interested in being involved in consultations on local clinical pathways?

Are you a GP who works in South Australia and is interested in being involved in consultations on local clinical pathways that help with navigation to local services and resources?

HealthPathways South Australia is a website that provides GPs and other health professionals with fingertip access to comprehensive, evidence-based assessment, management and localised referral information for an array of health conditions.

Consultation is an important part of the HealthPathways process. It provides an opportunity for local GPs (as well as other healthcare providers) to review draft pathways and provide feedback during the development (‘localisation’) process prior to the pathway being published on the live portal.

SA Health, Adelaide Primary Health Network and Country SA Primary Health Network are implementing HealthPathways across South Australia to support consistent care and management of health conditions and to improve people’s journey through our health system.

Ever had a patient injured in a car accident?

Your patient may be eligible to make a compulsory third-party (CTP) claim and have support to access treatment paid for by the policy of the ‘at fault' CTP motor vehicle owner.

The CTP Insurance Regulator is responsible for the oversight, monitoring and reporting of CTP Approved Insurer activities in the South Australian CTP Scheme.

The Regulator’s Injury Recovery and Early Intervention Framework has been developed to assist the treatment of people injured in motor vehicle accidents so that it is consistent across all claims managed by Approved CTP Insurers in South Australia.

The Framework has been developed through consultation with clinicians, medical practitioners, researchers and CTP industry specialists. It provides relevant information to doctors, allied health professionals and claimants to support injured claimants in their recovery. For more information, visit the CTP website.

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Service entities – Tips and traps

When doctors establish their own practice, utilising rooms, employing staff and purchasing equipment, they essentially create a new business. From a tax and structuring perspective, there are two businesses operating – the individual medical practice of the doctor and the new service business.

Health finance expert, Tom Laundy at William Buck, explains some tips and traps of service entities.